First, I reccomend you get the 1965 shop manual and the 1966 supplement. You only need the '65 main manual though for this job.

Remove the valve covers and lower shrouds from the engine.

Now, you want to follow these steps for each cylinder, doing one cylinder at a time and re-torquing the rocker stud on one cylinder before you do the next one.

For each cylinder, remove the two rocker arms and keep the rocker arm and balls together, don't mix them since the are worn in together. Next, pull the push rods from that cylinder, then remove the two rocker studs and push rod guide. Now you can remove the push rod tubes for that cylinder.

Most likely, you'll have to clean the tube if it is messy.

When you go to put the tube back, slide the block-end of the tube through the head before you put the o-ring on it. Once the tube is through the head, put the o-rings on it. Push the tube with o-rings into position. It doesn't hurt to lube the o-rings a bit to keep them from binding. Next, I usually use a socket the just fits in the tube to tap it into place.

After you seat the tubes, install push rod guide and the rocker arm studs (with their new o-rings). The push rod guide has a upside down U stamped on it. That side faces outward when putting it back together.

Tighten 1/2 turn after pushrod endplay is removed. This does not mean that you can not twist the pushrod. The pushrod may still be able to be twisted (rotated about its linear axis) before the extra 1/2 turn but will not move in and out.You can use a 0.001" feeler gauge between rocker arm and valve stem and tighten until there is drag when removing the gauge. This would be zero lash. Then do the 1/2 turn and you're done.

Here's "do it yourself" instructions from our very own Brent Covey of Canada!:

The late Corvair has a wider rear wheel track than the front track. The rear axle is 1.5" wider than the front, and the wheelbase is nine feet long (108").

You need all four wheels 'toed in' slightly, which means the front edges of all four tires must point slightly at one another, by about 1/8" to 3/8" or so. This is neccessary for a couple reasons, not least of which is the toe in compensates for the toe out created from rolling drag on the tires as the car drives along. Toe in also adds substantial response and stability in small amounts. Large amounts will wear tires faster, and make the car edgy in slippery conditions, like ice and rain.

Also, on cars like Corvairs where the rear wheels can have toe set, they need the rear wheels pointed to follow the front wheels. You dont want a situation where you have proper toe in on the rear tires, relative to each other, but they are pointing slightly left or right as a team, and making the car go down the road slightly sideways, which is called dog tracking.

On all four wheels, you want to set camber, which is the tipping in or out of the top of the tires. A slight amount of positive camber is usually best for normal driving, as it compensates for the side to side curvature of the road crown, and it somewhat 'preloads' the tire carcass to increase response. It also helps carry the weight on the tire treads in a central location, sort of like the ball of your foot, which minimizes the amount of road shock that will make its way back to the driver. In the old days, bias ply and bias belted tires could be controlled a bit by extra camber also, they would pull the direction they were tipped if a drivers side front tire was tipped out a little bit extra, it would tend to pull the car towards the road crown, which helped keep the car from needing correction on long straight highways by giving a slight lead to left. Positive camber is the tires tipping outboard at the top of the sidewall, like an ox cart. Negative camber is tipping inwards at the top, many Corvairs and other cars you see with independednt rear suspension have negative camber, which can help cornering traction at very high speeds but wears tires rapidly on the inside shoulder of the tread, and generally is undesireable. Zero camber is what a solid axle has, the tires are absolutely square to the pavement.

Theres a caster adjustment on the front tires as well. Caster is the distance the tread of the tire follows the axis the spindles rotate around vertically. The weight of the car and the drag of the wheels will create a force that helps the steering self center. This is done to enhance stability in straight ahead driving, and large amounts of POSITIVE caster also help increase traction in hard cornering as the tires will tip into a turn like a motorcycle and cancel out some of the outward roll of the car body as the car corners. If you see a Mercedes or BMW parked with the wheels turned sharply, you'll notice the tires lean sharply into the turn direction. We'll be wanting this, thats strong positive caster.

When the cars being driven along the road, the motion of the suspension changes these angles and their relative importance as the wheels move up and down and turn, and these relationships are conrolled in a way that encourages good handling and preventing shock or strong feedback, like bump steer to the driver. The settings we make at the curb with the car standing still are to a large extent just poising the parts where thier own mechanical action can take over as the car is driven.

So heres where we're going-

We want all four wheels very slightly tipped out at the top, very slightly pointed together at the front edges, with lots of caster (tips into turns) when the front tires are steered, and we have to accomplish this while ensuring the steering wheel is pointed straight ahead when the car is, and that the rear tires follow exactly in the track of the front.

To get these things all working together takes a little chasing around, as one adjustment can effect the rest slightly, its a relationship of angles we're creating.

So, heres what to do;

Fill the gas tank, and load the car as its usually operated, spare tire, jack, tools etc. Park on a level floor. Make sure all the suspension parts can be adjusted, which should be fine if you're recently rebuilt the suspension. Make sure the tires are all inflated properly.

First we need the steering box on center, and adjusted.

Steering box adjustment is covered in the shop manual, and I wont go into it here, but you will want the play removed from the box best you can depending on wear. The pitman arm bushing should be in good condition also.

Take the horn cap off and look at the end of the steering shaft. Theres a mark at 6 or 12 o'clock indicating straight ahead. Line up the steering wheel so this mark points exactly vertically. This should be when the steering wheel is pointed straight ahead if everythings properly assembled. When its pointed ahead, tie the seatbelt tightly around the lower edge of the rim to secure the wheel in this position. Put a piece of masking tape on the top of the rim at 12 o'clock exactly so you can have a visual check from outside the car to make sure the wheel hasnt moved from this position during adjustment, which it sometimes tries to do. If it does move, straighten it out again.

Now, first thing we need is to set front and rear camber as a preliminary. Camber is that tip in or out of the tires. Its adjusted by eccentric cams at the inboard end of the front lower control arms, or the outer end of the rear lower arms. Generally very mild positive camber is desireable, the top of the tire should tip out about 1/8"-1/4". The wider the tires, the less tip you want, and its very important its exactly even left and right on the same axle. On your car Mike, with the Crown bracket, you'd want negative camber on the rear wheels, which is slightly tipped IN at the top. If you use the Crown bracket, I would suggest the tops of the tires should be about 1/8" tipped inwards as a starting point. If you use the stock brackets, tip the tires out about 1/8". The front tires should tip out very slightly in all cases, about 1/8" or slightly greater. Lock the adjusters after you've obtained a correct adjustment.

Next, we'll set rear toe. This requires slackening the adjustment for the small rods that run crosswise from the transaxle mount bracket to the rear torque control arms first. Just back the four bolts off a few turns so the slide provision moves freely. Next, back all four trailing/torque control arm brackets at the front edge of the rear wheelhouse off about three turns on each side wheel to relieve the pressure, and permit the big bracket to move freely left and right. Now, sighting from the back, look across the sidewall and see if you can see the FRONT tire on one side. If you cant, bump the bracket in slightly, and look again. What we're trying to do, is just bring the front sidewall into view across the 'horizon' formed across the sidewalls of the rear tire. By bumping the bracket inwards ( a heavy hammer on a 2"x4" block of wood held against the bracket edge works good) or prying the bracket OUT with a long tool like a tire iron gently against the body rail will permit you to bring the wheel into line so the 'horizon' lines up right. Try to make sure the bracket stays square in the body and doesnt get cocked to one side or the other. When you feel you have the wheel in line, tighten two of the four bolts to hold the adjustment and roll the car gently back and forth a couple feet by hand to settle it and recheck. Do the same on the opposite rear wheel, and lock its adjustment.

Because the rear wheels are spaced slightly wider than the fronts, by aiming them to point at the front tires, they will be slightly toed in, and aimed in a way they follow directly behind the front wheels. In a perfect world, you'd have 0.34" total toe in, which is about 5/16" toe in. This is perfect.

Now, go to the front end of the car, and loosen the tie rod clamps. Front wheel toe in is adjusted the same way, look across the 'horizon' formed across the front tire sidewalls at the rear tires until you can just detect the rear sidewalls at their widest point. Its VERY important that the steering wheel/box remain in the dead centered position, which is why we tied it down, and put the tape on the rim to see if its moved. Make corrections as you go if need be. Adjust both front tie rods so you get the tires lined pointed at the rears, and the box still on 'center'.

After this, you'll have 5/16" toe in at the front, and at the rear, correct camber and no dogtracking, with a centered steering wheel. This is not complete yet however, this is just preliminary. But it is VERY accurate.

Caster is next, on the front wheels. If you are using larger than stock tires, you'll be limited in how much caster you can get away with. Caster is adjusted by lengthening the diagonal rod between the lower control arm, and the crossmember. You want to back the rear nut off and tighten the front one to INCREASE positive caster, and the reverse to decrease (make more negative) the positive caster. As caster increases, it moves the tire forwards in the car body (wheel opening) so, wide tires may get too close at extremes of adjustment.

The rearward nut on the strut rod used to adjust caster is a lock nut, but the front one is a regular nut in most cases. Loosen the back one off first, its the tight one. back the locknut out of the way a few turns.

Get in the car, and turn the front wheels to either side one turn exactly, and get the wheel pointed straight up with the tape at the top. Go to the side that the wheels are turned towards. Measure camber again, you should discover the tire is tipped outboard slightly. If it isnt, lengthen the strut rod (back the nuts toward the rear ) on the side you're working on until the tire tips out about 1/4" at the top. Take the slack up in the nuts when you have a fairly good tip out. Repeat the process on the other side, and recheck camber with the wheels pointed straight ahead, and make any minor corrections needed. Be sure to roll the car back and forth a short distance to settle it out between adjustments occasionally. Check the rear toe again, and if its still correct (should be) secure the control arm brackets tightly to the car body. Then WITHOUT JACKING IT UP tighten up the four slide adjustment small strut rod brackets at the transaxle crossmember, so they are secure. This is awkward, but neccessary. They MUST be tightened as a last step, and with the weight on the car wheels.

Recheck front toe by sighting again at the rear wheels with the wheel centered. It should be close or perfect. Tighten the clamps on the tie rods.

Now its tme for a short test ride.

Take the car for a ride on a good level straight road about 40 mph and see if it has any pulling to one side or the other, and that the steering wheel is centered when the car is driven in a straight line. If it pulls to one side, it means you need either more caster on the side it pulls towards, or less on the side it pulls away from. Usually its best to add caster from the preliminary adjustment. If the car drifts or pulls RIGHT as example, you will want to back the nuts towards the rear of the LEFT caster rod until it feels neutral. You may also move the nuts towrds the front on the right side instead. Experiment until the car feels absolutely neutral to drive, no drift or pull to either side. Lock the locknuts on the caster rods securely, and thats done.

If the steering wheel isnt *quite* centered, you may adjust it by finely adjusting the tie rods to steer the tires in the direction the wheel points during stright ahead driving. As example, if you need to steer slightly right to drive straight ahead, toeing the right front wheel out slightly and toeing in the left front wheel the exactly same amount will correct the steering wheel to straight ahead if done equally on each side, without affecting toe in.

When you're quite certain you have everything lined up satisfactorily, and the car drives perfectly, double check that things are even and the toe/camber hasnt shifted and that all the fasteners affected are tight and snug, and you're done.

And while there are test strips to test the moisture content, hereis a method that works just as well. Use your DMM (Digital Multimeter) to testthe fluid! The procedure is easy enough. Hook up your negative meter lead tothe negative battery post, and then insert your positive meter lead into thebrake fluid while avoiding contact with the reservoir itself. Any reading over0.30 volts is too much, and the fluid should be flushed. This test is a resultof an SAE paper showing a distinct relationship between moisture content and thevoltage measured.

The 11152s are plastic and have a small plastic, non-functional, tab that can be trimmed off, so it won't show.IMHO the plastic clips are better because they don't rust!They are less likely to scrape paint off the "nails" on the car, that hold them on, eliminating another cause of rust.

Do I need a hydraulic press to install the new bearing into the top cover?How far down do I press the bearing shaft into the housing?No press needed. Just heat the cover to 350 degrees in Mom's oven and the bearing will practically fall in place.If you need to help it along, use a brass, wooden, or plastic hammer. Work quickly while cover is hot. Hopefully you heated it to take the old one out.

is there a certain dimension I seek?Yes, a shade under 4.5". Sit the cover on a table. Place a ruler across the bearing flange. Measure between the table and the ruler with a second ruler. (4.46"-4.49")

I have also notice upon setting the top cover over the block its a little "tippy" diagonally, does this mean my top cover is shot? or will the bolts tighten that down?Hmm. I've never seen that. The warp will very likely straighten out when bolted in place.

Should I use Loc Tite on the bolts that hold it down? I know they should be torqued to 10lbs according to the shop manual.7# if lubricated, 13# if dry.

I also recall that Clark's catalog talks about a serrated bolt head that they recommend that eliminates loosen that is the only reason I ask about the Loc Tite.Original bolts are weak and installed at a low torque without lockwashers; that's why they loosen and leak. Clarks serrated bolts are ok but just as good is to install new grade 5 bolts and lockwashers torqued to 15#. There is no need for loctite if you have a lockwasher or serrated head bolt.

Do I apply any gasket sealants or adhesives to the rubber gaskets supplied?For customers cars, I use a gasket adhesive because it pretty much eliminates leaks and comebacks. For my own vehicles where I can tolerate a small chance of a leak in exchange for easy future service, I soak the paper gaskets in motor oil before assembly. Soaking them makes them soft so they conform to irregularities well while the lack of sealant makes future disassembly a breeze.

Rod journals should be 1.799 to 1.800 if std, smaller ifturned .010, .020 or .030: so the 1 inch to 2 inch mike should workthere. Mains are in the 2.0978 to 2.0988 range for std, depending,they are not the same, look in a manual. So the 2"-3" mike should workthere.